Spider-Man Gwen: Separation Anxiety Story 3 of 4 Smoke and Mirrors
by Scramjet
Summary: One of four alternate tales of Spider-Man and his first love. The Jackal has a new trap for Parker will he be killed or simply heartbroken?


Spider-Man Gwen: Separation Anxiety Story 3 of 4 Smoke and Mirrors

Introduction

Seperation Anxiety is a series of alternate tales concerning Peter and Gwen one where she's dead, one where she never died and three where she comes back from the dead; none of these stories are connected to one another other then the general theme enjoy

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The following story is a crisis/character piece that amalgamates elements from the original clone saga, the second clone saga, the ultimate clone saga, a pinch of Spider-Girl and an issue of Deadpool I heard about. It will deviate with events in the 90's on several points.

Chapter 1

Peter Parker always saw the best in people and though he had made more then his fair share of enemies as Spider-Man there were only two individuals that he truly hated insane masterminds who had devoted there lives to making him miserable the Green Goblin and the Jackal. For Peter his rather unfortunate life had never been worse Norman Osborn had somehow come back from the dead to haunt him. Not only had they fought but Osborn had bought the Daily Bugle and threatened to reveal his secret identity. It had turned out that Osborn had made use of his time being presumed dead as a mastermind who had engineered nearly every serious tragedy in Peter's life since the death of Gwen Stacy. Among other things he had funded the cloning experiments of Miles Warren the Jackal and the incident with the robot doubles of Peter's parents. As a result Spider-Man had had to be more careful then ever his wife Mary Jane was pregnant and he became less active as Spider-Man.

When MJ was a month from delivering his life was further complicated by the reappearance of the clone he had dumped in a furnace he called himself Ben Reilly and was the nomadic superhero the Scarlet Spider. Ben had returned to New York to see May Parker who was in the hospital in what may have been her death bed. Though they didn't initially get along the two eventually formed a bond closer than brothers and fought the assassin/stalker Parker clone Kaine and other menaces.

On the day that MJ was going to give birth Peter learned that Harry had recovered his sanity he and Liz were coming back. Peter could not make it to the hospital on time for Mary Jane perhaps if he had things would have ended differently. The day before one of Norman's operatives had slipped some poison into her food now in the hospital struggling she could only plead for her absentee husband. Elsewhere Kaine watched as his brothers fought the Green Goblin the battle was fierce and none emerged unscathed. Finally Norman moved in for the kill Ben dived in his path to protect Peter and was impaled on the Goblin's glider his body quickly turned to dust revealing him as a clone.

The man who Kaine had so hated whose existence as the presumed original made his life miserable was no more. A surge of feelings went through the clone emotions that would eventually coalesce into remorse he sped away without watching the final outcome.

Peter and the Goblin continued to engage one another on the bridge. Once again Norman's own murderous vendetta proved his downfall, he had been a little to liberal with the pumpkin bombs and Spider-Man was able to leap away as a quarter of the bridge collapsed onto the madman. There was no way he was getting out of this Peter wanted to check to see if his old enemy was finally dead but he didn't have time he swung away to the hospital.

At the hospital Mary Jane was in agony staring out the window hoping for the familiar sight of someone crawling onto the window. The door opened and MJ saw a familiar face. The man resembled Peter quite strongly but he was a good five inches taller with long hair and a face riddled with scars he was wearing clothes that were a bit tight on his form she assumed he had stolen. The doctor asked if he was her husband she said no.

"Should I escort him out?"

"No he's my brother in law."

The killer stayed by Mary Jane as she went through her ordeal and though it was pretty close the baby girl came out fine. Kaine held the infant in the hands that had scarred many and gently rocked the infant.

"What are you going to name her?"

Mary Jane let out a cough and said "May. May Mayday Parker."

Peter arrived twenty minutes later in a rush he apologized something like twenty times. Though surprised to see Kaine he told her what happened to Ben and Norman and spent the next two hours with his wife, they would be the last he had.

After expressing how happy she was that she had chosen not to just stay friends and accepted his third proposal Peter's heart sunk when he heard her tell him and Kaine the newly appointed godparent to take care of May and she slowly subcumbed to death. It was like George and Gwen Stacy all over again how many lives did Norman have to destroy just to make him miserable; at least as his body was discovered people would see him for what he really was.

Over the next six months Peter reconnected with Harry and Liz there marriage seemed stronger then ever, Flash and Felicia were engaged only to split after three months and Aunt May had pulled through. Peter tried his best to take care of May but as a single parent who desperately needed to pay the rent and superhero he had work to do he often let Liz babysit and May seemed to get along well with young Normie. When the Osborn's weren't available there was a community of superheroes that just adored little May.

Peter came out of the experiment depressed not angry as he could very easily have been but even more grief stricken then when Gwen died. Most of his time as Spider-Man was spent now with Kaine who had changed his costume to become the new Scarlet Spider as they searched for the Jackal it was about time for a little payback.

The two eventually tracked Warren to a snow covered laboratory outside the city they found him hibernating within a pod. Without any prompting on there part the pod opened and they found that there tormenter had gone through a rather startling transformation. Rather then dressing up as a green skinned jackal the former college professor had mutated himself into a real green skinned jackal man one who gave them quite a beating. The combined power of the two arachnid themed heroes was enough to knock something approximating sense into there old foe.

"No more games Warren we want answers" Spider-Man said "unless you want me to hand you over to your reject Kaine here!"

Kaine ignored Peter's remark and looked like he very much wanted to get rid of his creator. After a few more punches the Jackal said

" Look at you Peter you may act angry but I know your just scared, Scared that despite whatever evidence you may have found you aren't the real Peter Parker, and im here to tell you children that that fear is well founded."

The Jackal pressed some key on a computer and one of the labs monitors displayed a room where a few dozen clones were bouncing around in costume. "Sorry" the Jackal said with a sharp toothed grin "wrong number." he pressed some more keys and a hydraulic door opened.

"Enter children if you have the courage to meet the one true Spider-Man."

Peter and Kaine entered to find a room not unlike the one the Jackal had just emerged from the only difference was that there were four pods. Peter and Kaine quickly looked through the tiny windows and recognized the familiar form of there late lamented love Gwen Stacy in all four pods. The Jackal looked at them and laughed and Spider-Man pounced on him. The Jackal was quite quick and the two entered a grapple which ended with Spider-Man receiving a back hand blow.

"You lied there are no Spider-Men there clones or otherwise!"

"How astute of you two." the Jackal said as Kaine helped Spider-Man up and towered behind the Jackal. "No the real Parker stands before us in his smelly costume." he broke into laughing "Don't you get it Smoke and Mirrors Smoke and Mirrors everything is Smoke and Mirrors."

Kaine grabbed Jackal's arm and twisted hard. Spider-Man stood before him and the Jackal said

"You wouldn't want to hurt me right now. Standing before you in one of those pods is the one true Gwen Stacy or it may be a clone how are you to know. ha ha ha ha ha"

"I know that none of your clones are real!" Spider-Man said "The high evolutionary told me they are people you reprogrammed with implanted memories and genes."

"My former teacher was always jealous of me" Warren staid getting up despite the pain from Kaine "but regardless of what he said my clones are real you've seen the results."

"I saw Gwen die!" Peter exclaimed not standing defiantly when all he wanted was to fall on the floor and cry

"But was it Gwen that died?" the Jackal said "Now if you have the courage to conclude this family reunion you simply need to get to that terminal and open the pods up try to keep the hormones down boys.

Kaine kept an eye on the Jackal as Spider-Man stood in front of the terminal. There were about a dozen different buttons for different releases. He moved his finger for the master release but his spider-sense went off and he recoiled before pressing it and the Jackal smirked.

"Yur senses are as keen as ever you would have been electrocuted with 50,000 volts if you had pressed that button. Things wont be easy for you four Gwen's one is real, another booby trapped, a third has weeks to live and one will break your heart and in case your wondering none will trigger that spider-sense of yours. Spider-Man and Kaine fumed Peter got ahold of himself and entered five keys one by one the pods slowly opened dumping the unconscious Gwen's.

"Enjoy" the Jackal said before trying to make a getaway. Peter webbed yanked him and slammed his body into a wall.

"What are you going to do hero?" the Jackal chuckled.

"Im going to hand you to Kaine he'll know what to do."

"Spider-Man tossed him to Kaine. Underneath his mask the new Scarlet Spider smiled Peter had trusted him the former psychopath with the life of one of there worst tormenters. Kaine may have discovered that Spider-Man was the original but Peter was ok in his book. Kaine dumped Warren at Ravencroft and Peter moved the comatose Gwen's he web cocooned to his apartment where he found some of MJ's clothes for them.

A half hour after he had made sure they were safely hid there was a knock on the door it was Susan Richards and Johnny Storm, they had come to drop off May. Peter spoke with them briefly then closed the door and placed May in her crib. Though Aunt May had recovered and was better then ever and some closure had been found with MJ's death and his past coming to haunt him Peter felt that he and May's lives were still going to be pretty complicated.


End file.
